I try to listen to an album a day and write about it.

Vikingur Ólafsson – Philip Glass: Piano Works

How do you get super creative and make the most of your time in one simple step? Decorating!

Seriously, think about it. Ambience affects so much shit. Layout dictates so much of what we do. Just think about a home of someone you like to judge and only watches television and eats food (then has the audacity to not even feel guilty about it afterward like a regular asshole). Usually they will have an entire room dedicated solely to a ’52 inch curved flat screen television. All the chairs face toward it like it’s some sort of idol. Then, the kitchen and the dining room take up the rest of the house. What the fuck else are you supposed to do in there? If you lived in a library you’d end up reading. I bet, with enough time, if you lived amongst a whole bunch of airplanes you’d either become a pilot, an airplane, or you’d just end up killing yourself. See what I’m saying?

I once visited the house of a good writer. He had a reading room in the sunniest part of his house. His computer had no internet access and was laid out vertically so it looked more naturally like a page. Every single room you went into made you want to read. Eventually I asked him, “So, you’re a natural procrastinator I’m assuming?” as a joke. But, surprisingly, he responded, “Oh, I’m the fucking worst. If I didn’t have this house, I’d get nothing done. Have you seen Deadwood yet? You absolutely must.” He then went to pulling out this shit laptop he kept in a drawer to watch a clip of it on YouTube. We sat in uncomfortable wooden chairs as we watched this tiny screen and felt like bags of shit the entire time. This was his trick to stop watching television. And it fucking worked.

I’ve always thought that as long as there are University students needing to finish essays and theses, there will be Philip Glass. His shit just makes you productive. Have you ever stood in a hallway or an elevator with mirrors on either wall, the ones where when you look into the mirror there are just worlds upon worlds inside? That’s Philip Glass music for me. It’s fractal music. And it’s fucking beautiful.

Vikingur Ólafsson is one of the hot cocks on the block in regards to Classical. When he plays the piano, people fucking listen. Of course he’s talented, but that’s not his charm. His interpretations of piano pieces are fucking intellectual and chill at the same fucking time. Also, he’s Icelandic, and he has that thing other music from his country has. It’s that type of touch and movement in music that’s purposeful, felt, yet somehow soft even in its abruptness. If you don’t know, many of these songs were not intended to be played on the piano. But, now having heard it this way, that may be it for me. I honestly think that University students everywhere will have this album as their essay soundtrack. Why is that? Because when you put this shit on you feel fucking productive. You want to get shit done. You feel intelligent and introspective. It creates a fucking ambience to be creative and work. I suggest using this album and keeping it on you like a weapon.

Outside of this, I believe this album should be a staple in any classical music lover’s collection. It’s fucking great. It’s chill. Use it while you drink a morning coffee. Or, keep it for the night when you really want to think about your life. It’s powerful shit. Really. Enough of this shit and you can change your habits. Try it. I dare you.